The Decline and Fall of the Smaller Retail Outlet: A geographical study

That the total number of retail outlets in the UK is declining is not news. But what sort of retailers are disappearing? And in which parts of the country? David Kirby indicates that, surprisingly, not only the number of independents has declined, but also the number of multiple outlets, though naturally this is offset by a concentration of trade in larger multiple stores. The greatest contraction occurred amongst co‐operative shops.